Music Therapy In Dementia Patients: Use Some Old Tunes In Support Of Better Cognitive Health!

I recently browsed a bulletin on the Wall Street Journal website concerning the use of music therapy in dementia patients. The report indicated that one of the criticisms of music playback devices is that folks who use them are apt to shun relationships with other people and remain in an isolated universe of their own. However, recent monitoring of stroke and Alzheimer's sufferers are revealing that iPods and other MP3 players frequently have the opposite result.

By listening to some old often encountered music, advanced Alzheimer's patients can link back with their memories and with others in some extraordinary ways, especially for folks with degenerative brain diseases. As an example, as stated in the Journal, listening to rap and reggae on a borrowed iPod each day prompted a 28-year-old stroke sufferer to start to walking and make use of his hands again.

In another example, a 52 year-old man who fell out of a fourth-floor construction site and suffered a crushed larynx became so absorbed with music that he wrote 400 songs and produced four albums. An 85-year-old dementia patient in Florida listens to her beloved opera and Yiddish songs each day on an iPod with a home health aide or her daughter when she drops by. According to her daughter they listen for at least one-half hour a day and "It seems to touch something deep within her."

Caregivers have known for many years that music therapy in dementia patients can be extraordinarily efficacious. They have observed for decades that dementia sufferers can remember and sing tunes for some time after they have stopped recognizing names and faces. Hospitals and nursing homes have been using music as recreation for a long time, since it causes patients pleasure. Furthermore, beyond the enjoyment value, there is important evidence that listening to music can also help improve apparently lost memories, and even help reconstruct cognitive function in some cases. (via IPod Therapy for Alzheimer's Patients, WSJ.com)

As a senior citizen myself I am a big fan of iPods and similar devices for senior citizens. I myself have an iPhone, which is basically an iPod with a telephone built into it. I am conscious that many of you will be doubtful because you think such devices are too confusing for seniors. However, as research as shown, using complicated devices can be quite efficacious in reducing memory loss due to aging. Now we discover that the musical capabilities can be helpful even for those who have already suffered memory loss.

Well, okay, you might decide not to actually leave an iPod in the hands of a person who is experiencing cognitive decline, but such a device can certainly be used, under supervision, to provide the kinds of music therapy in dementia patients set out in this article. Technology can be amazing for those who are willing to be imaginative and farsighted in applying its use. IPod music therapy in dementia patients is a consummate example.

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